Sanibel Tennis Tips From Pro Louis Vosloo


Basic Fundamentals of the groundstroke

The tennis groundstroke consists of a forehand and a backhand. Traditionally the forehand is hit with one hand and the backhand can be hit with one (Federer) or two (Nadal) hands.
1) The first step is you always want to wait in the ready position. Face the net, feet shoulder width apart and body weight centered leaning slightly forward being on the balls of your feet. Wait with the racket in a forehand grip, centered and in front of the body and racket head up.
2) The second step is you want to take the racket back all the way with the but cap of the racket facing the net and your body turned sideways facing the side fence.
3) The third step is to start the swing of the racket moving foreword making contact with the ball. The racket head needs to be square/level in order to make good contact with the ball and remember to look at the ball all the way until contact is made.
4) The final step is to follow through with the swing all the way until the racket goes over the shoulder.
Do the basics well and I am sure you will have lots of success playing this great game of Tennis.

Basic Fundamentals of hitting the tennis ball when moving.


When hitting the tennis ball on the move whether you are on the ATP Tour or socially on a Saturday afternoon the fundamentals stay the same. There is no difference.

1) The first step is to react to the ball. Early recognition is the key and move the body towards the line of the ball.
2) The second step is to hit the ball on balance. You want to take smaller steps when approaching the ball and slow the body down to the point of when you start your swing that your body is hitting the ball with balance.
3) The final step is to really focus on your contact point. Be very still with the wrist and racket head and emphasize the square/level racket head and control at contact.

These basic steps will really help you to hit those running shots with great success. Very helpful when hitting passing shots or going for a winner on the run.

Louis Vosloo is the Director of Tennis at the Dunes Golf and Tennis Club and Sundial Beach and Golf Resort
For his professional carrer, Louis has competed in 16 Grand Slam Qualifying Events (5 US Opens, 5 Australian Opens, 3 Wimbledon, and 3 French Opens). Louis was the Davis Cup Player for South Africa in 2000, 2002, 2003
All Africa Games – Represented South Africa at the 1995 and 1999
ITF world junior ranking – Top 100 under 18  See your local certified professional to bring your game to the next level.